BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

DICK'S STILL SINGING THE SAME TIRED SONG When I was a teenager many radio stations started using a computer fed format. It did away with the need for disc jockeys. A predictable pattern of tunes was programmed onto a computer and the sequence varied every few hours until the whole thing was reprogrammed with the latest top 40 hits or new releases. And so it goes with the Vice President. Apparently this man either doesn't get out much or is locked into a cycle of "this fear-mongering worked before so it should work again" mentality. This particular cycle still has him trying to link Al-Queda to the war in Iraq. The PNAC kool-aid. This link has been debunked so many times, its almost pathetic that these West Point grads had to sit and listen to this. The war had just started when they enrolled and now at graduation they have to listen to the Vice President who swore in April 2003 that major combat operations in Iraq had ended. So, when some of these cadets are d...

WHOLE FOODS WAIVERS ON WITHDRAWING SUPPORT FOR ANTI ISRAEL RADIO FROM "JOIN THE BOYCOTT" : They claim to be "pacifists", but KPFK's anti-Israel extremists are waging an aggressive propaganda war against Israel with their "Radio Intifada" show . After receiving a wave of letters of protest, Gelson's and then Trader Joe's quickly removed their names from the list of KPFK supporters who donated food to volunteers in KPFK's fund drive. In contrast, Whole Foods remained on the list for several weeks, but now claims to have removed its name. However, its name still appears on this KPFK page (scroll to bottom) . Whole Foods has also reserved the option to support KPFK in the future. Friends of Israel who shop there run the real risk that a part of their purchases will be used to support the anti-Israel and anti-semetic KPFK. To comment to Whole Foods, write to: CEO John P. Mackey at john.mackey@wholefoods.com VP A.C. Gallo at ac.gallo@who...

HOST A PLURALISTIC BLOG CARNIVAL? Esser Agaroth: Haveil Havalim #118 ESSER AGAROTH hosts this week Haveil Havalim #118 and does a stellar job. Thanks and everyone, Esser Agaroth: Haveil Havalim #118 go take a look! - Barbara PLEASE CLICK HERE TO JBLOG ME

SWEEPING UP THE FALWELL I have no love for religious extremists. I was raised staunchly Catholic and for a time in my teens, belonged to a local evangelical Christian group (there were no Jews where I grew up and whole lot of bad country music and shotguns). I wore my scapula even during college in the 70's, having been a pre-Vatican II kid. I have seen extreme Christianity, extreme Catholicism, extreme Fundamentalism and have no patience with it. Now - no patience with extremism in any faith. Maybe because I have always considered a relationship with the Almighty an extremely intimate and personal thing. Face it, God knows every single thing you do and think. God knows every skeleton in your closet by name and one day, you'll have to account for it all. You won't be able to bluff or finesse your way out of it. God is closer to you than your own skin. You are his creation. Your relationship to him is yours and God's alone. NO ONE has any right to tell you how t...

"As the gardener, such is the garden." ...Hebrew proverb If you haven't guessed, I love gardening. I didn't realize how much I missed it until we moved to this house and its small backyard 4 years ago. Making things grow, bringing color to the dirt and having my hands in the soil - I can almost feel the earth's pulse. My late parents would wait until I came home for visits - then get me to trim their shrubs around the house by hand. They refused to get a gardener - because if I did it - things flourished. My Nana, of blessed memory, and I had a productive tomato garden going behind our garage too. When we moved in here the backyard was a mess. I had a landscaper come and level it right to the dirt. Running into him in the neighbor last summer he asked if he could come see what I'd done. He was amazed. He said I had turned an overgrown, bug-infested swamp into a lovely little yard. I felt humble. A sterile, manicured home is not for me. A lush place o...

WILLFULLY CRACKED This piece is from one of my all-time favorite blogs . I frequently use Kathy's great pieces in my work with Domestic Violence and Abuse victims. I myself have had destructive narcissists, sociopaths and borderlines in my life. Yes, they are mentally sick and very slick people but a lot of their abuse and lying is willful. Catch them - and you will find out just how "CRACKED" they are with the stupidity of the accusations and twisted "truth" they will spout. It's also impossible to separate these disgustingly abusive patterns from Islamofascists and their spin on everything from the media to rape to the reasons for attacking anyone who isn't one of "them." I could go on and on about the stupidity of the media about so many things, but for now - I am going to stick to the dangerous stupidity of terrorism. After you read this - give a gander to THIS WEB SITE . You'll see what I mean CONTROLLING A NARCISSIST'S EARS by...

THE VIEW SAYS BUH-BYE TO ROSIE By DAVID BAUDER Rosie O'Donnell has fought her last fight at "The View." ABC said Friday she asked for, and received, an early exit from her contract at the daytime chatfest following her angry confrontation with co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck on Wednesday. She was due to leave in mid-June. It ended a colorful eight-month tenure for O'Donnell that lifted the show's ratings but no doubt caused heartburn for show creator Barbara Walters. O'Donnell feuded with Donald Trump and frequently had snippy exchanges with the more conservative Hasselbeck. O'Donnell said last month she would be leaving because she could not agree to a new contract with ABC executives. "Rosie contributed to one of our most exciting and successful years at `The View,'" Walters said. "I am most appreciative. Our close and affectionate relationship will not change." In a statement, O'Donnell said that "it's been an amazing y...

ANSWER TO LEMON LIME MOON'S MEME! Lemon poses this: An interesting meme I found surfing around. Makes for a good filler after a yomtov. Here are the rules:~~~ 1. Grab the book closest to you. 2. Open it to page 161. 3. Find the fifth full sentence. 4. Post the text of the sentence to your blog. 5. Don't search around for the coolest book you have, use the one that is really next to you. Post a comment on here that you have answered..then post your answer on your own page. My book is When Moshiach Comes, A Halachic and Aggadic Perspective by Yehudah Chayoun. It was nearest me as I was going through it again....so here we are at page 161: "Yalkut Shimoni, Shir Ha Shirim 1, In those days the house of Yehuda will go to the house of Yisrael.. (Yirmeyahu 3:18)Yisrael refers to the ten tribes exiled to the Sambatyon River." PERMALINK (put YOUR ANSWER HERE TOO!) My answer: I always have a few books on the go. Right now I have 3... so: 1. THE BODY NEVER LIES by Alice Miller : ...

SHOOT OUT FOR THE LAST HATER STANDING Fatwa Against Hamas for Having 'Jewish Characteristics' by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz A Muslim cleric, apparently from the Palestinian Authority, has released a fatwa (religious ruling) permitting the killing of members of the Hamas terrorist organization. In support of his position, the heretofore unknown sheikh declared Hamas to have "Jewish characteristics," but added that "the Jews have more mercy" on the Arabs than Hamas. The fatwa and accompanying argumentation appeared in two articles, one in the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan and the other published on the website of the Fatah terrorist organization, headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. According to a report and translation of the articles provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), the Islamic cleric, identified as Sheikh Shaker Al-Hiran, labeled Hamas "Khawarij." This term is a reference to a group of Muslims that rebelled ag...

JUST FOR SHOW In a breakfast meeting at the White House last Thursday, Abrams told a group of Jewish Republicans that they should not put too much stock in efforts to pressure Israel to reach an agreement with the Palestinians. "He said that pressure on Israel was all for show," a congressional staffer familiar with the meeting said, "and that it was being done just to satisfy the Europeans and Arabs . "He said, 'You know, we have to show that we're doing something. You really shouldn't worry about it.'" Hat Tip to WRH PLEASE CLICK HERE TO JBLOG ME

NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH MONTH SHARE YOUR STORY! Your story can change a life - or even save one. Let others know they are NOT ALONE! This one-of-a-kind project invites people who struggle with mental illnesses to break the silence and share their stories. We all know how empowering human connections are to those seeking wellness and recovery. By speaking out about your experiences, you help give a voice to the 57.7 million American adults—and as many as one in 10 children—who have a mental health disorder. Your story will help bust the stigma that keeps people from getting care and perpetuates misunderstanding about those affected by mental health disorders. We think there’s no better antidote to that misunderstanding than the real lives of real people. And there’s no better antidote to silence than speaking out. Together, we can help others and kick open the door to the truth about mental illness: that it ’s real, common and treatable. So tell your story and give a real voice to ...

"IT'S BEEN A SHAM" Let's pray Hamas stops this hate. Unfortunately, judging by past actions - they will just keep on. Hamas continues to blame-shift the escalation on the Israelis. Is Israel just supposed to lay down its defenses until they bomb it and its people into the sand? Once again - idealogically, Israel and its enemies are on 2 different pages. The terrorists and militants are leaving Israel no choice (no matter how the press wants to spin this!) War is profane but, defense is compulsory! Israelis arrest Hamas leaders By ALI DARAGHMEH Israeli troops in the West Bank arrested more than 30 senior Hamas members early Thursday, including a Cabinet minister, legislators and mayors — pressing forward with an offensive against the Islamic militant group. The roundup came hours after Israeli planes struck what the military said were money changing offices and other businesses in Gaza used to channel funds to Hamas. Israel has been attacking Hamas targets for more...

A COMMENT ABOUT BETRAYAL by Keith Olbermann This is, in fact, a comment about… betrayal. Few men or women elected in our history—whether executive or legislative, state or national—have been sent into office with a mandate more obvious, nor instructions more clear: Get us out of Iraq. Yet after six months of preparation and execution—half a year gathering the strands of public support; translating into action, the collective will of the nearly 70 percent of Americans who reject this War of Lies, the Democrats have managed only this: * The Democratic leadership has surrendered to a president—if not the worst president, then easily the most selfish, in our history—who happily blackmails his own people, and uses his own military personnel as hostages to his asinine demand, that the Democrats “give the troops their money”; * The Democratic leadership has agreed to finance the deaths of Americans in a war that has only reduced the security of Americans; * The Democratic leadersh...

Hope In Hardship The journey that each human being makes through earthly existence can have hardship as often as it is touched by joy. When we encounter adversity, the stress we feel can erode our optimism, eventually convincing us that the issues we face cannot be overcome. Though we may believe that all avenues have been closed to us or that our most conscientious efforts will come to naught, we are never without feasible options. The best course of action may be veiled in doubt, but it is there. When we are honest with ourselves with regard to this simple fact, we can overcome anything because we will never stop looking for a solution to the challenges before us. Self-trust coupled with a sturdy plan is the ultimate antidote to adversity’s tendency to inspire disillusionment in the human mind. As difficult as the obstacle plaguing you seems, it is no match for the love of a supportive universe that has been a part of your life since the day of your birth and will be with you fore...

MY THANKS TO RAFI G.! My children will be delighted their pictoral essay was in JPix! CLICK HERE FOR WHOLE JPIX EDITION PLEASE CLICK HERE TO JBLOG ME

BRAUNSTEIN'S TRIFECTA: ANGRY, VINDICTIVE or MENTALLY ILL The Virginia Tech massacre is not that far behind us - we still worry about the stigma of those with mental health issues and how to deal with its sufferers in an equitable fashion. My latest trial fixation was on the Peter Braunstein case. Braunstein's defense made the age old 'but he was mentally ill and no responsible' plea. They even went so far as to try to paint his ex-girlfriend as a sexual temptress who drove him to it. (how many times do ex boyfriends try this one on a much smaller scale everyday?) Baruch Hashem the jury saw through that in uner 4 hours. Braunstein is obviously mentally ill but there is a legal element distinguishing what he did from that of a deranged person - he was calculating. He assaulted & raped a woman, set up a situation to have her let him into her house to do so, and then ran from NYC going to hotels, flophouses and see hookers along the way only to end the chase with a...